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New Schools Considering PGR Peer Mentoring - Preliminary Meeting to Discuss PGR Students

Peer Mentoring

 

The aim of per mentoring for postgraduate research students at Queen's is to aid the transition to the research environment.  Mentoring is 1-1 and mentors are typically research students recruited from 2nd or 3rd year.

 
New schools interested in setting up peer mentoring for postgraduate research students can meet Annette MacArtain-Kerr to discuss the school context and particular needs of PhD students.  There are a number of other areas for consideration prior to setting up a new pgr mentoring scheme.  The main ones are listed below:

  • School co-ordinator: each school has an identified staff member who acts as link person for co-ordinators, mentors, mentees and postgraduate centre staff.  It is important to identify this staff member at an early stage.
  • Expected number of incoming postgraduate research students: the expected number of new students will dictate the number of mentors required.
  • Promotion & Recruitment: it is important to advertise the mentoring scheme (posters available here) early and promote it to postgraduate research students in 2nd and 3rd year so that mentors can be recruited and signed up to training by late August.
  • Training: there are two mandatory half days of training for mentors and all mentors should attend these.  School staff representatives are invited to attend the second day - this provides an opportunity for pgr students and staff to look together at key issues for mentors such as role of mentor and important boundaries such as academic ones as well as school logistics, election of co-ordinators and mentor/mentee pairings.